Retrograde
by Darkness-Chill
Summary: My story's a strange one. Not strange because of events or people. Not strange because it ended up a mystery or strange because I was different. No, my story is a strange one because the only way it makes sense is if told backwards.
1. Chapter 10

It ended on a staircase.

Me, my friends, a black dress, and a coffin.

Tears flowed down all of our faces, and sobs were the only sound any of us could hear.

Nothing else mattered. Nothing except the one in the coffin.

He was really gone. Nothing would bring him back. We knew that. We didn't want to admit it.

Maemi was the worst. She was a complete mess, practically having to use Rayza as her life support. All of us knew that if Rayza let go of the girl, she'd tumble down the stairs and crash into a crying, sobbing mess at the bottom of them.

None of us knew how to help her, either, since we were all in bad shape.

For the first time in a long time, though, there was no fighting going on. It was rare with us. One of us was always yelling, screaming, punching or kicking.

For once… none of that was happening.

Go figure. A tiny sliver of light in the darkness that had fallen over us in the past week.

Why did this have to happen to us?

What had we done wrong?

Why him?

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This is an experiment, and that's all it is. It's my attempt at something which will take me AGES upon AGES to update.

But I will. I swear it.

Strangely enough, yes, this is my newest rewrite of The 7 Immortals. Notice that the old one is gone?

I promise this will make more sense soon. Give it a chance. And let me know what you think. Like I said, this was an experiment, so I'd like to know how I did. Especially as the story continues.


	2. Chapter 9

A colossal weight was lifted the minute he said, "I'll be here."

"You will?" I looked up. His face hadn't changed. He was still smiling. Why was he smiling?

"I promise you."

It all went downhill from there.

A knock came at my door, so I broke away from Jez to go and answer it.

BANG.

I was knocked to the ground by Jez, the bullet from the stranger at the door's gun barely missing the top of his head.

"Oh my god, Jez…" I murmured.

He said nothing, but got up, whirling to glare at the person with the gun.

My carpet started turning red.

"Jez, get down!" My brother's clear voice rang through the night, as Jez pushed me back down to the ground, using himself as a human shield for me.

A sound I can't even explain filled my ears and I blacked out.

We all did.

And then we all woke up.

All of us except one. Turns out that the mysterious gunman at my door had been able to shoot him before the bomb- that's what the blood on the carpet was.

The worst end to the worst week of my life.

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Not any longer than last time, but TRUST me, these chapters are difficult and confusing to write. I'm writing them BACKWARDS for crying out loud. Agh, this is hard. But that's why it's an experiment.

Kurama's coming in soon. Don't worry. It's under the YuYu Hakusho category, they're here.

And I'll get to the explanation eventually.

So… still confusing? –sigh- This is haaaarddddd….


	3. Chapter 8

I shut my eyes and let the sound of the piano fill me until there was nothing else around. Nothing except him and me.

The moment didn't last, however, as Yusuke came bounding over, patting me on the head and congratulating me excitedly. I blinked.

"Seriously, you're brilliant! You saved the entire world." He said, grinning at me.

I stared at him, raising an eyebrow. "Yusuke, I just calmed Koenma down. No big accomplishment at all, especially since I all I did was hand him the papers that said what YOU did."

Yusuke shrugged, "Hey, Toddler-breath has the ability to blow up the world when he's angry!" he shrugged.

I ignored the shout of "YUSUKE!!!" from across the room.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned, noticing, sadly, that Jez was gone from my side.

"Hello, Kurama." I said politely.

"No hard feelings, I hope." Kurama said, carefully. It was to be expected, after all that had happened.

"None, don't worry." I smiled slightly.

"That's good." He said, relieved. "Well, I believe someone else was looking for you next door."

"At my house?" I asked, surprised.

Kurama nodded. "I suggest you hurry."

I blinked, and, carefully , picking up my skirt so I wouldn't trip, ran out of the house.

Waiting in front of my front door was Jez. He hadn't disappeared after all!

"We never get to be alone." He said, embracing me.

"We're alone now." I said.

Jez slid my door open, pushing me inside lightly. I giggled. "That we are." He said, a playful tone to his voice.

"Jez… before anything happens… can I ask you something?" I asked him. Finally time to get out with it.

Jez nodded, "Of course, babe. What's up?"

"If I was to… leave for awhile… would you wait for me?" I asked him.

"Where are you going?" he asked, shocked.

"Just answer me, please, Jez. Would you wait for me. Would you be here when I got back?"

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Three chapters. 1 day. Geez. This never happens. Still hard to writeeeeeee.

YYH characters, as promised. A little less confusing this time?

Information on whether or not this is working would be nice! Please?


	4. Chapter 7

When I got back to the house after reporting to Koenma, I was dragged next door to some kind of party.

Slightly confused, I went along with it.

Halfway through the night, I was tapped on the shoulder by someone. Turning, my face lit up when I saw who it was.

"Jez!" I shouted, jumping into his arms. I hadn't seen him in weeks- not since the mission had started!

He held me close and I relaxed against his body, finally feeling at home.

Of course, that can never last.

Five voices shouted my name in unison, and the next thing I knew, I was at the bottom of a huge dogpile of friends who hadn't seen me in weeks. And my brother.

When I finally got them all off of me, which was not an easy feat, believe me, I glanced around to see Jez standing by the piano. Strolling over, I wrapped my arms around him from behind, "Thinking of playing something?" I asked him.

He smiled, "Yeah. Feel like listening?"

"Of course." I smiled, letting go of him so he could sit down. I leaned against the piano with one hand and he started playing a beautiful melody.

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This one… took awhile. Especially since it's so darn short. But, I've got slight ideas now. So… yeah.

Hopefully I'll have the next one out soon, this is just really hard to write.

Also, reviews encourage me. They really do. And I really wanna know if this is working or not, since I'm writing it backwards and as an experiment and all.


	5. Chapter 6

"Here you are." Kurama handed me a nicely sized folder. He was being rather pleasant, which surprised me, considering our recent history.

"Thanks." I said, taking it and tucking it under my arm for safety, before turning to him, "How did it go? Anyone hurt?"

"Everyone's fine." He assured me. "Hiei did not come out unscathed, but that was expected."

I nodded, frowning. It was a dangerous process; Hiei wasn't expected to be completely in one piece in the end. As long as he was alive, everything was fine.

"I should go, then." I said, looking back at Kurama, "I have to find a ferry maiden to take me to Reikai so I can give this to Koenma."

Kurama nodded, smiling a little at me, "See you later, then."

Before I could even consider where he would be seeing me, he was gone. I headed to find Botan- I knew she was around.

It didn't take long, and soon enough I was walking down the halls of Reikai towards Koenma's office. It didn't take long for me to find it, and I knocked before opening the door and walking in.

"Koenma-sama?" I called out, looking around for the pint-sized toddler ruler of the Makai. I was standing in his office, and the majority of the time he couldn't be found anywhere BUT his office.

Still, no answer.

Huffing a little, I stepped out of the office and down the hallway, keeping an eye out for people who would possibly be able to tell me where he was. No one was around.

"Koenma-sama?!" I called out a little louder, but still got no answer. This time I did huff. People were waiting for me back home and I didn't feel like staying her to report something someone ELSE did to the baby-ruler.

"Ah, there you are."

I turned, surprised, to see Koenma in teenage form standing behind me. His face was a little red, as if he was either angry or had been running a marathon. Considering who he was, I guessed the former.

"Do you have the news? Am I going to have to blow anything up?"

I blinked a little, but handed him the folder, "Here. Can I go now, or am I still on probation?"

"You can go." Koenma waved me off, probably not hearing my question. I sighed, knowing I'd be back de-weeding his garden in the morning. Heading to the exit of the Reikai, I hesitated before leaving, catching a ferry maiden to bring me down to where my house so I could finally rest.

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Only a little overdue, eh? I'll finish it before Christmas if people bug me to. There aren't many chapters left.

We're getting into the plot now. Wheeeeee…

Reviewwww?


	6. Chapter 5

"Tala!" I screamed, ducking behind the broken wall. He wasn't supposed to be here. Why was he here?! My brother's body flew across the room and I shouted his name again, running towards him. Unconscious, but still breathing. Good.

I whirled around towards the mess occurring behind me and took out my gun, shooting blindly towards it.

"Hiei, now!" I heard Kurama's voice call, and a brilliant black light filled the air. I lowered my gun, not sure where anything was anymore, and stumbled backwards, landing on the ground, breathing heavily.

When the light faded, it was over. Hiei was out, unconscious, on the ground and Kurama was tending to him. Yusuke was taking care of the mess, and Kuwabara was running towards me.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked.

I nodded, shaking my head immediately after doing so, and rubbed the side of my head. Something… Tala!

I jumped up, running towards my brother and checked him over. He was fine. Beaten and bruised, but he'd recover. I slumped against the wall, relieved.

Kurama glanced at me, but I saw nothing more before falling unconscious, exhausted.

When I woke up, I was exactly where I'd been, but the mess had been cleaned up. Tala was bandaged up, and it turned out so I was I. I stood up, checked my brother's pulse once more, and made my way around to see if I could find anyone.

"Hey." Kurama's voice called. I turned to see him walking towards me.

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This was so not worth you guys waiting so long. I'm sorry. This story is so difficult to write sometimes it's ridiculous. I think I'm gonna take some time to lay it out again- It's laid out but I don't think I like it right now. Once fully redone, I'll post the next chapter and update the rest of the chapter titles accordingly.

I definitely didn't get this done by Christmas, though. -.-

Review? Don't hate me?


	7. Chapter 4

My phone began to buzz in my pocket. Maemi had fallen back asleep, so I quickly left the room, answering the phone as soon as I was on the street again.

"Yes?"

"_Kyri, I need you to pick up the report from Kurama. Get it to me without it getting destroyed and I'll let Hyph out. They should be finishing up with Calomnus soon."_

I glanced at my watch. That was fast.

Koenma seemed to expect the question. _"He was attacking when Kurama went to investigate the neighborhood."_

"Okay. Where are they?"

Koenma rattled off the directions to the neighborhood and I hung up, running through the streets, knowing the sooner I got there, the sooner I would be off the hook and Hyph would be out of jail.

And really, the less time that boy spent in a jail cell, the better.

Unfortunately, Kurama and the gang were NOT as finished with Calomnus as he'd expected. I ducked behind the broken wall of a house, pulling out the gun I'd brought with me just in case, surveying the situation. Kuwabara was getting as many humans to safety as possible, getting them away from the already dead bodies of their neighbors and families. Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke were currently locked in combat with Calomnus, trying to drive him away from the humans, and into the less populated (and more destroyed) area of the neighborhood—the area he'd already torn through. And Tala was about to launch an attack at him from the side.

…

What the HELL was Tala doing here?

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…I kind of wrote the gun in during the last chapter and forgot about it when I went to write this chapter. Oops. It IS there, though. See, I mentioned it.

Heh.

I'm really REALLY sorry this took a year and a half. But I have good news. I'm posting this now, and later today I'll be posting the next one. Tomorrow I'll post the next one, and the day after that, I'll post the last one.

That's right, we have THREE chapters left. This story will be FINISHED on Wednesday. I can guarantee this because I sat down and wrote the rest of it tonight.

I really am sorry this took so long. I hope you guys liked it, though!


	8. Chapter 3

"So, these three neighborhoods are likely targets." I explained, circling them on the map I'd printed out.

Koenma nodded, "Alright. I'll send people to scope out the neighborhoods. Good job."

"Thanks." I mumbled. "And Hyph?"

"I'll let you know if this leads to anything." Koenma said.

I grumbled, knowing I wasn't going to be getting a better answer than that. "Alright."

"You can go. I'll call you when I need you again."

I left his office, walking idly through the halls of Spirit World, looking for a ferry girl that could teleport me back to Human World. Finally stumbling across one, I landed in the backyard of the house I shared with my brother. I pushed open the back door, but the silence indicated that Tala was nowhere to be found. Grabbing my keys, I left, walking down the street to the hospital.

I may as well let Maemi know why Hyph won't be visiting.

Her room was empty when I walked in, and she looked to be asleep. The flowers in the vase next to her were rather vibrant, but were not as fresh as they usually were when Hyph brought them in.

I sat quietly down in the chair next to her bed, and she stirred.

"Hyph?" she muttered.

"Just me, Mae." I said, taking her hand and squeezing it. "How're you doing?"

She ignored my question, "Where's Hyph?"

I sighed. Best to get it over with, I suppose.

"He got himself arrested."

Her reaction was not exactly what I expected, "About time."

I blinked, "What?"

"He's being doing stupid things lately." Maemi said, staring blankly at the ceiling, "You have too."

"Mae, we're-"

"I know I'm blind, but I'm not stupid." Maemi said, turning her blank eyes towards me, "You can't expect me not to catch on."

"Mae…"

"Just be careful." Maemi said, "I'd rather you end up arrested than on the sharp end of someone's weapon."

I chuckled softly, squeezing her hand again, "I promise."

"Good." Maemi smiled at me.

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Two chapters left! Let's see if I can finish this any time soon!

Lemme know what you thought.


	9. Chapter 2

"You said Calomnus?"

I nodded, even as I shoveled food into my mouth. I was sitting in Yefi's kitchen, the older man having been about ready to sit down to lunch when I barged in holding my folder and hoping he had some information on my rogue serial demon.

"I've only heard of him." Yefi said, "So I can't offer too much."

"Anything would be great, Yef." I said.

"I can't believe you're on probation again." He mumbled.

"Hey, at least I'm not in jail." I smiled at him, and he just rolled his eyes.

"Not something to be proud of." He grumbled, "Okay, what I know about Calomnus pretty much boils down to his eating habits."

"Okay." I nodded, snatching up a pen from the table to take notes.

"He needs to feed on souls, but instead of liking a certain kind, he just wants a lot of them, all at once." Yefi said.

"Thus the neighborhood slaughters, I suppose…" I muttered.

"Exactly." Yefi nodded, "Unfortunately, that's not exactly going to help you track his next move."

I frowned, "Yeah…" I said, scribbling down what he had told me. "Mind if I borrow your table?"

"Go for it." Yefi shrugged.

I picked up the folder and walked over to the living room table, spreading out a few of the pieces of paper in it—the maps that marked where the attacks had happened.

"All of the attacks happened in the same general area."

I jumped, "Holy SHIT, Yefi!" I snapped at him, "Don't sneak up behind me like that!"

"Sorry, kid." Yefi laughed, "You're the one who got so into it."

I smacked him. He was right, though, all of the attacks had happened within 50 miles of each other, meaning that the next neighborhood likely to get attacked would be in that area.

"Got something?" Yefi guessed.

"Yeah." I nodded, throwing one arm around his neck, "Thanks, Yefi. See you later."

"Be careful!" he called after me as I ran for the door.

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We're nearing the end here! One chapter left.


	10. Chapter 1

It began in Koenma's office.

"Kyri?" Koenma's stare was rather penetrating as I shifted uncomfortably in place.

"Yes, sir?" I nodded.

"You do realize that you and your…" he paused. I shifted again. "…friend are being charged with a rather serious crime."

"Sir, if you'll let me explain—"

"There is no need for explanations, Kyri." Koenma's stare turned into a definite glare, and I shrank back. "Hyph has chosen to go to jail, rather than to do any community service."

That asshole! Maemi was fully expecting him to be in the hospital, greeting her with flowers like he does every morning, not locked up in some jail.

"I'm hoping that anger on your face isn't directed towards me." Koenma said, reminding me that I'm still in his office.

I shook my head, "No. Just Hyph."

Koenma nodded, "Hyph has chosen jail, however, if you would like, I have something that I could offer you as an alternative."

I frowned, "Is there any way I could do the community service for both of us?"

"It depends on how well this coming mission goes." Koenma said, "Get me the results I want, and maybe I'll think about it."

I nodded.

"Also, make sure to de-weed the garden. It's been awhile since you've been in trouble—it's sort of a mess." Koenma said, handing me a folder, "Here's the details. Get me the information, and I'll send my spirit detectives out to take care of the rest. All you'll have to do is pick up the report from them when it's over."

"Yes, sir." I nodded.

"Get out of here, then." Koenma said. I quickly left the room, opening the folder as soon as the door shut behind me.

…What the?

He wanted information on some… thing named Calomnus. Apparently he had been taking out entire neighborhoods of humans. Spirit World was covering it up, blaming the deaths on a serial killer, but if he wasn't stopped soon, things could get pretty nasty.

I only knew one person who might have ANY idea of where to start. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

….Wow, that's kind of a horrible ending. Mostly because it's the beginning.

Well, that was a story written backwards, if anyone really cares.

…I actually might re do this again. I'm considering it. As strange as it sounds, through this little experiment of mine, I was able to work on these characters some more, and I think I've pretty much nailed down their personalities and everything.

I don't know. If you guys would like to see something else (that isn't written backwards and is updated hopefully more than once a year) with these characters, let me know and I'll think about it.

Otherwise, hope you enjoyed and thank you guys so much for sticking with me through all this.


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